


A Very Leify Christmas

by AlexDion



Series: Loki and Leif Series [2]
Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Brother Feels, Christmas, F/M, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Humor, Presents, Team Bonding, Team Dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-12
Updated: 2013-02-12
Packaged: 2017-11-29 01:51:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/681362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexDion/pseuds/AlexDion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A one-shot sequel to Son of Loki. </p><p>It is the Eve of Christmas, and Leif has yet to buy presents for the Avengers. Just as he was fretting about the situation, who would join him but his father, Loki, who had decided to pay his son a visit. Together, the father and son duo combined their dazzling intellects to choose the best possible gifts for the Avengers and their friends.</p><p>How would the Avengers react to their old foe crashing their Christmas party? What presents would Leif buy? And will Loki finally attain salvation on this festival of forgiveness and love?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Very Leify Christmas

Leif trudged down the snow covered streets of New York.

It was early in the afternoon on the eve of Christmas, and the boy is facing a catastrophic problem: He has yet to procure presents for the Avengers and his friends. Leif gritted his teeth in annoyance. He knew that he should not have slacked in this particular task, however the boy had been busy lately, getting into Tony Stark's hair at every available opportunity and the mission of buying gifts had somehow slipped from his mind. Therefore, he would now have to pay the price.

The Christmas party with the Avengers would be held at the Stark Mansion this evening, and Leif had until then to search for gifts. The boy heaved a tired sigh. He detested shopping, especially last minute shopping, and right now, he hadn't got a slightest clue of where to start for this tedious task.

"You seem to be in a bit of a hassle."

Leif spun around in shock after hearing the cool familiar voice and gaped in astonishment at the sight of the smirking man before him.

"F-father?"

Loki grinned at the look of incredulity on his son's face. It seems like his little surprise for his son had worked better than he had expected.

"You might want to close your mouth, Leif. It is rather chilly out here." Loki said dryly with a flash of mirth in his eyes while Leif continued to stare at him in disbelief.

"Wha- Why are you here?" Leif sputtered, still stunned by Loki's sudden appearance. His eyes scanned his father's grand suit for a moment and the boy gave a tiny amused grin. "Are you going to a formal ball or something?"

For a moment, the boy wondered if this was a dream, considering how Loki had continued to visit him in his sleep occasionally since the god had escaped. It has been five months since the being-evil-and-taking-over-the-world incident and the God of Mischief had not appeared on either S.H.I.E.L.D's radar or in the Avengers' lives since then. All had been peaceful, and Leif had not expected his father to appear all of a sudden again.

"I had been gone for a rather long period of time, my son. I thought that now would be a suitable time to return." Loki said simply and flashed the boy a warm smile. However, Leif's brows rose sceptically as he stared at his father and Loki gave a light chuckle at his son's display of doubt.

"Now now, there is nothing wrong with a father visiting his son, is there?" Loki said teasingly and despite his misgivings, Leif gave an appreciative grin.

"By the way, you seem to be troubled by something earlier. Is there any way I could help?" The God of Mischief asked with a tinge of concern in his voice and Leif jolted up, reminded of his task once more.

"Right! I have to shop for Christmas presents for the others before the shops close today!" Leif groaned at the thought while Loki's brows furrowed with confusion. The boy stared at his father for a moment before his face suddenly lit up. "Hey! Why don't you come along with me and help? I believe it will lighten the toil of shopping." Leif grinned.

"Presents? Christmas?" The god seemed a little muddled at this point. "I have heard about this Midgardian festival from your mother in the past, Leif, but I am still unsure of what it means."

"Even better! You can come along with me and I will explain it to you on the way!" Leif exclaimed eagerly and he tugged on the sleeve of Loki's suit, pulling the doubtful god along. "Hurry up! We don't have another moment to waste!"

XXX

Loki gazed around the rows of toys and plushies in the store disdainfully.

A few minutes ago, Leif had dragged him into this strange store called Toy'R'Us, stating that he wanted to buy some pony figurine for Thor. The boy had searched through the shelves and realised to his disappointment that a particular pony by the name of Rainbow Dash had been sold out. Loki had pointed out that there were plenty of other ponies to choose from but his son had shaken his head, claiming that Thor would likely be displeased if the pony he received was not his favourite. Leif was now browsing the store for another suitable gift for his uncle while Loki strode along with him, gazing curiously at the various Midgardian playthings that the humans had invented for their young.

"Do you think Uncle will like a card game?" Leif asked Loki, holding a red pack of cards titled 'Uno' in his hand. The god took the packet of cards from his son and turned it around, his brows raising cynically as he read the instructions at the back.

"Really, Leif, this game appears to have a set of instructions that seems a little too complicated for Thor. Do you seriously think that your dear Uncle would be able to comprehend this with his level of intelligence?" Loki asked sarcastically and Leif rolled his eyes.

"Right, point taken," The boy replied dryly and placed the packet of cards back. Loki's attention then turned to a basket containing numerous tennis balls and the god picked one up, observing it carefully.

"How about buying this for that annoying Man of Iron? I believe he would be able to find some use of it as a gag." Loki said, his eyes glinting evilly at the thought and Leif gave a snort of laughter.

"Not a good choice, Father," Leif smirked with amusement. "Stark's mouth is too big, he might swallow it whole." A mischievous smirk similar to Leif's appeared on Loki's face as he considered his son's words.

"Such a shame," The god grinned as he placed the ball back. Loki then gazed around the store and gave a little sigh. "You know, I believe this isn't the right place for us to be hunting for presents for the Avengers."

"Took you long enough to figure that out," Leif sneered derisively and turned to stride out of the toy store. Loki stared at his son's leaving back incredulously before grinning in amusement to himself.

_It appears that Leif has conveniently forgotten that he was the one who dragged me into this store in the first place._

XXX

Loki and Leif strode through the snow across the grounds of the Stark Mansion, with tons of parcels and presents in their arms.

It had taken a while, but after a few hours of debating and sniggering over the perfect choice of gifts for the people on Leif's Christmas list, both father and son were now satisfied with their purchases. Leif had insisted on Loki joining him at the Avengers' party despite his father's protests and the god found himself grudgingly approaching the enemy's den, unable to find the heart to disappoint his son.

"Are you sure it would be alright for me to be here, Leif?" Loki asked his son cautiously once more when they reached Stark's doorstep. "I don't really want to ruin this festival for anyone. I have heard that it is supposed to be a joyous occasion."

"Of course it's alright!" Leif replied confidently. "You have turned over a new leaf, haven't you? You are here to patch up your past grudges and there is no reason for them to make a huge fuss. Besides, you have brought presents. You are basically like Santa Claus now!" The boy nodded towards the parcels in Loki's arms and gave a tiny snigger. The god barely had the time to argue back or puzzle over what Santa Claus is before Leif swung the door open and strode in gleefully.

"Greetings everyone! I am back!" Leif announced grandly to the group of people lounging around in the living room, which consisted of the Avengers, Pepper, Jane and Darcy. Lady Sif and the Warriors Three were also present as the Bifrost had been fixed just in time for them to pay a visit to their friends and take part in this glorious Midgardian festival. "I brought presents, and a guest!" The boy announced happily and multiple pairs of eyes shot to the doorway, where Loki stood uncertainly with an awkward grin on his face.

"LOKI!"

"BROTHER! YOU ARE BACK! PRAISE THE ALMIGHTY FATHER!"

"RED ALERT! AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!"

"HEY! What's happening? That guy is Leif's father?"

It took Leif eleven whole minutes to calm the enormous uproar that had burst out due to the sight of his father and Loki had wisely decided to retreat from the mansion and hide behind the doorway, peeping in occasionally to gauge the situation. Leif had just managed to coax an agitated Bruce from hulking out and was now standing in front of the doorway, his hands spread out protectively to stop the Avengers from advancing menacingly on his father (with the exception of Thor who had been delighted to see Loki). The presents the boy had held now lay scattered on the floor, forgotten due the commotion and panic.

"What is  _he_  doing here?" Tony snarled and pointed at Loki, who had now taken to standing sheepishly behind his son.

"My Father is here to make amends." Leif replied huffily. "There really is no need for all this racket." Thor perked up and grinned happily at Loki after hearing Leif's words while the other Avengers glared at their past enemy doubtfully. Jane, Darcy and Pepper, who have never seen Loki in the past, stared at the god with curiosity. Sif, Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun gazed at their wayward prince, unwilling to aggravate either Thor or their Midgardian friends and unsure of what to do in the current situation.

"He is here to make amends?" Tony repeated sceptically, staring at Leif's determined face in disbelief.

"Right, I have brought presents." Loki gave a nervous grin and lifted the wrapped parcels in his arms as a show of peace.

XXX

After an hour of furious arguments where Leif defended his father, Thor swore for his brother's honour, Tony insisted on beating the god into a pulp and Clint threatened to put an arrow through Loki's eyeball, the Avengers had decided to give their former enemy a second chance.

After all, it  _was_  Christmas Eve that day and they  _were_ supposed to uphold the Christmas spirit of love and forgiveness. Thor had flatly pointed out this fact, saying that this was the explanation about the 'holy festival' that Steve Rogers had given him. The flustered Captain was then left to fend off the furious attacks by Tony, Clint and Natasha for giving Thor such a 'wonderful excuse' to clear Loki of past sins.

Bruce, seeing Leif's dilemma and feeling sorry for the boy, had stated firmly that Loki could be allowed to stay IF he swore to be good. The scientist then added wryly to the others and the god that the Other Guy would not stand any nonsense, especially on Christmas Eve and Loki had hurriedly flashed an assuring smile in reply, stating that he was only here to make peace. Therefore, regardless of how reluctant Tony was and how cynical the rest of the Avengers were regarding Loki's intentions, the God of Mischief had been allowed to stay and join in the festivities only for today. Of all the people present, only Leif and Thor appeared to be genuinely pleased with the outcome and Thor had clapped his bemused brother on the back, exclaiming how he always knew that Loki would return.

After a long awkward silence and several dubious stares, the group of people gathered around the Christmas tree as Leif attempted to lighten up the mood with the mention of unwrapping presents. Even though it was tradition for people to open their presents on Christmas morning, the boy had suggested opening the gifts now to show his Father, Uncle and Asgardian friends more about the Christmas customs.

Leif had gleefully handed the Avengers their presents first and knowing the boy after all his shenanigans, all of them had appeared uneasy and were reluctant to be the first to open their respective packages.

"Well, don't just stand there. The presents aren't going to unwrap themselves, you know?" Leif said impatiently. "I assure you there are no paint bombs this time." The boy added with a snigger and Tony Stark glared at him, recalling a certain particularly unpleasant experience.

"I can vouch for that," Loki drawled matter-of-factly as he stared at his old foes. "I had a say in the choice of your gifts as well."

If the atmosphere in the room had been uncertain before, it was definitely tense with fear and suspicion now. Clint and Natasha stiffened up, their grips tightening around their parcels while Steve and Bruce gazed uneasily at each other. Tony Stark stared down at his package as though it might explode at any moment and from the look of his face, appeared about to toss the unearthly thing out of a window. Only Thor, who had decided to trust his brother and nephew, started to rip off the wrappings from his package, impressing and aweing the others with his courage.

"Thor…" Steve began nervously but the god had already succeeded in tearing away the colourful wrapping and was currently opening the box eagerly. His face fell, however, as he gazed inside the box and pulled out a round and black rubbery looking thing.

"What is this?" The Thunder God asked Leif and Loki curiously. Both father and son were now wearing identical mischievous grins on their faces.

"It's a rubber grip for your hammer Uncle." Leif smirked at Thor's befuddled face. "It will help to keep the Mjolnir warm."

"That's right Thor," Loki drawled. "It will also provide you with a firmer grip on your hammer. You wouldn't want to lose your precious Mjolnir someday on the battle field simply because you swung it about too wildly, would you?" The God of Mischief's eyes flashed evilly and Leif sniggered at his father's words.

Tony Stark shook his head in disbelief at the sight of his friend's downcast face. Seriously, what had Thor been expecting from the both of them? Tony supposed he'd better get this unpleasant torture over with and started to unwrap his present.

"Thank you so much. I had always wanted something like th-" The billionaire had begun his usual 'polite' thanks that he used whenever he opened a present when he stopped abruptly and stared in shock at what was inside his box. Tony gingerly fished out a round tin of oil from inside his parcel and gaped at it incredulously.

"You are welcome Stark." Loki flashed an amused smirk at the man. "I chose your present myself. I thought that you might need a little oiling up in case you ever get rusty." The affronted billionaire threw a dirty look at the gleeful god.

Utterly discouraged by the first two disastrous present openings, the other Avengers hesitated for a long time before unwrapping theirs. However, with Leif's constant urging and Darcy's overwhelming curiosity at the mysterious gifts to follow, the remaining four heroes eventually mustered up sufficient courage to tear away the wrappers.

Clint and Natasha received a pair of couple rings, which had disturbed the Black Widow greatly and caused an unusual flush of red to appear on Hawkeye's cheeks. Natasha Romanoff tossed her ring back into its box, muttering something furiously under her breath about childishness. Clint Barton, however, stared at the ring for a moment and pocketed it slyly when no one else was looking, wearing a tiny grin on his face.

Steve and Bruce, who were the Avengers closest to Leif with the exception of Thor (but Thor didn't count since he is family), were the only ones who could be openly pleased about their presents. Steve had opened his and found to his delight that Leif had bought him a pair of black leather boxing gloves, which he had thanked the boy gratefully for. Bruce received a nice stylish trench coat that Leif had personally picked for the man, much to his surprise.

"Thanks Leif," The scientist flashed the boy an appreciative smile.

"It's no big deal," Leif grinned back. "Consider it my way of thanking you for always helping me out in the past."

Soon, after the Avengers had either finished sulking or grinning over their gifts, it was the others' turn to unwrap their presents.

Jane received a photo frame decorated with pictures of Pop Tarts for her to frame Thor's photo with (the only existing photo of the god was the one in Darcy's phone). Darcy unwrapped her present to find a pretty silver bracelet, much to the excited girl's joy. Leif had presented his friend her gift with a smug expression on his face and was extremely pleased when Darcy flung her arms around the boy and gave him a hug for his present.

Fandral was given a pocket mirror to preen himself with, and the conceited swashbuckler did not know if he should appear pleased or offended by the gift. Volstagg received a bottle of ketchup, which Leif had claimed made a lot of food taste better. Hogun, on the other hand, unwrapped his present to find a thick book on Sociology, which Leif had felt would interest the quiet man. Yes, Leif had chosen these presents quite tastefully indeed. Lady Sif, however, was approached by Loki himself with her gift.

"Here you go Sif," Loki grinned as he handed the doubtful female warrior her present. "I specially chose this for you myself, and I am sure you will find it pleasing." Lady Sif glared at the trickster suspiciously and tore off the wrapping.

"What? What is this?" The woman asked sceptically as she stared at a bottle in her hand. It seemed to contain some strange Midgardian chemical that Sif knew nothing about.

"It's a Midgardian hair dye, Sif. It is supposed to bleach your hair blonde again." Loki gave a nasty smirk. "I know how much you have missed your golden hair since I had cut them off in the past. I believe it's about time for you to restore a bit of shine back into those dull locks of yours."

The God of Mischief flashed another amused grin at the furious Lady Sif, who was now hysterical and restrained forcefully by Fandral and Volstagg to prevent her from pouncing onto Loki and clawing his eyes out.

Leif presented Pepper Potts personally with her present, as the boy was rather fond of the strawberry blonde who had been kind to him in the past. Pepper opened her gift and smiled at the nice pretty pair of ear muffs that the boy had bought for her.

"This will keep you warm in this cold weather," Leif grinned at the lady. "I might also add that the fur on these ear muffs is rather thick. They will help in keeping out unwanted noises when you wear them, if you know what I mean." The mischievous boy winked at Pepper, who gave a tiny giggle while Tony Stark, who had been listening to this conversation, scowled heavily at the brat.

In the midst of all the chaos occurring now in the Stark Mansion, the doorbell suddenly rang and Jarvis coolly announced the arrival of Nick Fury, Phil Coulson and Maria Hill, who had been invited to the party. The three S.H.I.E.L.D agents strode in and greeted their friends politely, but another panicked uproar soon occurred when they spotted Loki sitting on Tony's couch as bold as brass and staring at them with a bored expression on his face.

After another fifteen minutes of yelling and wrestling with guns, Thor and Leif managed to convince the three shaken agents that Loki was here to make peace. Tony Stark, who had stood by the side lines and watched the commotion hopefully, grumbled under his breath after it was all over that it was a shame Fury didn't lose his cool for once and shoot Loki in the head. Clint Barton, who was next to his friend, dryly mentioned to the billionaire that bullets cannot penetrate their foe's skin.

Leif decided that it was now time for his father to atone for his past acts against the organisation and pushed a reluctant Loki forward to present Nick, Phil and Maria with their presents.

Phil Coulson had been the first of the trio to rip away the wrappings and was extremely excited when he saw that his gift was a box containing a Captain America bobble head. The thrilled man then eagerly opened the box, only to gape in horror at the sight of the figurine inside. The uniform of the Captain America bobble head was silver where it should have been white, and green where it should have been red and blue. The stars were replaced with slender crescent moons and instead of the tight mask that the Captain usually wore, a flashy horned helmet now sat on top of the figurine's head.

"Do you like it?" Loki smirked at the appalled expression on Phil's face. "I had thought that the soldier's uniform was a little too  _corny_ , so I made a few modifications and added my own little touch to it. It's much better improved now, don't you agree?" Leif let out an uncontrollable burst of laughter at the sight of Phil's disheartened face and Loki gave a devilish grin.

Maria shook her head sympathetically at her friend's misfortune and cautiously opened her own parcel. The woman's brows rose in surprise when she saw a nice makeup kit in her box.

"You will look really pretty if you smile a lot more, you know?" Leif pointed out cheekily and Maria shot him a stern look, although the sides of her lip twitched up for a second.

Loki strode up to Nick Fury with the man's gift and presented it to the Director himself.

"Consider this a form of apology, Director, for all the trouble Leif and I had caused you in the past." Loki said sincerely and Nick's eye narrowed with suspicion as he accepted the parcel from the god. Somehow this all seemed too good to be true. The man opened his gift box and sure enough, his doubts had been true.

"Is this a joke?" Nick held up a round rubbery stress ball in his hand and glared angrily at Leif and Loki, who were both grinning in an extremely infuriating manner. Tony gave a light chuckle at the Director's displeasure. At least Tony Stark wasn't the only one who felt like strangling the father and son duo at the moment.

"Not at all, my dear Director." Loki smirked with amusement. "It is a gift to help you release some of the pent up stress you have accumulated during your noble job of maintaining peace on the Earth. I had wanted to pick out a wig for you initially. There was a rather presentable afro up for sale, but Leif had said that you might not like it. Therefore we ended up choosing this handy little stress ball."

It was fortunate that Loki had the good sense to step away from Nick after his little speech as the man appeared as though he might explode at any moment. Nick Fury threw a murderous glare in the grinning god's direction and mumbled furiously to himself that he would be able to release more stress if his hand was around Loki's neck rather than the stress ball.

After all the joy and glee of unwrapping presents, the party of people sat down around Tony Stark's large dining table to enjoy a scrumptious feast of roast turkey, ham, whipped potatoes and a variety of other dishes. The mood was cheery and lively, even with Loki sitting amongst them and it did not take long for all the plates to be emptied. A flurry of activities soon ensued after their evening meal and true to the Christmas spirit, all hostility towards Loki was forgotten during this jolly period of time.

Steve and Bruce started to play a game of Parcheesi while Natasha and Clint snuggled in front of the warm, roaring fireplace, chatting about their past experiences. Thor, Jane, Sif and the Warriors Three sat around Tony's circular couch along with Nick, Phil and Maria, engaging in a light hearted conversation over the future possibilities of cooperation between their two realms. Leif and Darcy were now twirling around in a dance to the music playing in the background and the boy was slyly leading the unsuspecting girl nearer and nearer under the mistletoe.

Tony poured himself a glass of Scotch, carefully checking his glass for any signs of melted salt. The genius had learnt to be ultra-cautious with Leif around. After being satisfied that it was safe to drink from this glass, the billionaire took a sip of his drink and started choking and sputtering once more.

"Wha-?" Tony stared at his glass of Scotch in disbelief.  _But it was not possible! I had checked!_  The man peered more carefully at his glass for any traces of salt but found none. In fact, something told him that even salt could not possibly make his drink taste this bad. Tony Stark's head snapped up at the sound of an amused laughter and the billionaire glared furiously at Loki, who was now smirking at his enemy.

"Really Stark, did you think that I would have covered your glass with a layer of salt like Leif? The boy's skill at pranking is amateur still. I tend to be a bit more thorough." The trickster grinned evilly and Tony's gaze turned from Loki to his bottle of Scotch as he realised what the god meant.

"You… you ruined my entire bottle of Glendronach Scotch?" Tony sputtered out in shock.

"Yes, magic is a wonderful thing, isn't it?" The God of Mischief replied dryly. "And I believe you still owe me a drink."

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!"

"Tony! No!" Pepper rushed forward just in the nick of time to stop the enraged billionaire from hurling the entire bottle of Scotch violently at the sniggering god. "It's Christmas Eve! You can't kill Loki no matter how much you feel like doing so!"

"Listen to your lover, Stark." Loki smirked annoyingly. "We can't have you ruining this joyous occasion, can we?"

After Pepper managed to calm a fuming Tony down and shoo the tiresome god away, Leif joined his father at the circular couch as Darcy had dragged Thor, Sif and the Warriors Three away for a game of Twister.

"Merry Christmas, Father." Leif grinned as he handed Loki a small wrapped package. The god's brows rose in surprise as he stared down at the present in his hand.

"I didn't know that you got me a gift as well. We were together the entire time today. How did you manage to sneak off and get me this?" Loki asked his son curiously.

"I bought this a long time ago. Wanted to give it to you… but never got the chance until now." Leif gave a casual shrug. "Well, don't just sit there. Open it."

Loki grinned and tore off the wrapping, musing to himself if Leif would actually dare to prank him when he stopped, stunned by what he saw. Inside of a small black velvet box, was a classy silver watch with the word 'Father' engraved in Italics on the band. A warm feeling grew inside of Loki and the god was speechless, touched by the gift his son had given him.

"So… do you like it?" Leif asked his father earnestly and Loki flashed a grateful smile.

"I love it," The god said softly and a grin crept over Leif's face. "Although it is surprising that you had bought me a Midgardian time piece." Loki added jokingly. "I don't really have a need to tell the time."

"Well, I just wanted to get you something, and I had thought that you would like a watch better than a necklace." Leif said mischievously and his father gave an amused chuckle.

"Not unless they are as wonderful as the one I had given you." Loki grinned and pointed to the glowing violet pendant under Leif's shirt.

"Well I am afraid that's not possible. The pendant you gave me is one of a kind." Leif replied good-naturedly and the two of them shared another laugh between themselves once more. Both Father and Son then turned and stared at the commotion on the Twister mat, where Fandral was now attempting to flirt with Darcy, winking at the amused girl.

"Umm… excuse me for a moment." Leif muttered quietly to Loki and strode off towards the giggling girl and blonde romantic.

"Sorry Fandral, but she is taken." Leif smirked at the bemused swash buckler as he swung his arm around Darcy's shoulders, causing the girl's face to blush in a pretty shade of pink.

Loki watched with amusement at his son challenged Fandral to the silly mortal game and became entangled in a noisy mass of bodies. Thor, who had long given up on the exhausting game of Twister, strode over to join his brother, irritatingly planting himself on the seat next to Loki.

"It is nice to have you back, Brother." Thor said warmly and Loki rolled his eyes.

"I am not your brother." Loki replied with annoyance, although there was an obvious absence of spite and hatred in his words now. "And I didn't return for you, Thor, just in case you start to have any flawed misconceptions. I came back for Leif." The god added matter-of-factly and Thor gave a small rueful smile.

"I know, Brother," Thor said and Loki gritted his teeth with disdain at how the Thunder God had still stubbornly insisted on addressing him as 'Brother'. "In fact, I haven't seen Leif in such an elated mood since you left." Loki's brows lifted sceptically at Thor's words and he turned to face the god.

"I had been observing Leif from afar ever since I left. He had always seemed to be cheerful to me." Loki pointed out flatly while Thor smiled knowingly and shook his head.

"No, Loki. He may have made a show of being happy, but I know that deep inside, the boy misses you." Thor replied genuinely and Loki's gaze turned back to Leif, who was now yelling and struggling to pull himself out from a heap on the ground with Fandral and Volstagg piled on top of him.

A moment of silence passed between the two brothers as they watched Darcy attempt to rescue Leif by tugging on his arm and failing spectacularly when she fell backwards and landed unglamorously on her back. Leif, Fandral and Volstagg appeared to have gotten into a tight fix as their bodies had somehow became entangled during the game and the trio were now shouting and squirming to free themselves. Steve, Bruce, Phil and Maria were now trying to help disentangle them, although it could be seen from the looks of their faces that they had no idea how to start. Tony Stark was sniggering to himself by the side while Pepper scolded him for being unhelpful. Thor gave a tiny chuckle at the scene and turned back to Loki, who was wearing an amused grin on his face, seeming to be entertained by his son's discomfort as well.

"Don't leave again, Brother. Why don't you stay with us?" Thor said eagerly, hoping that his brother would agree but the smile on Loki's face faltered.

"How is that possible Thor? How could I possibly stay after all I had done in the past?" Loki muttered quietly after a moment's silence. "They will never accept me."

The God of Mischief stared sadly at the group of people before him. Leif, Fandral and Volstagg had been miraculously freed with their friends' help and the trio were now chuckling and guffawing at each other's ruffled states. The crowd around them had started to laugh at their antics as well and a flustered Darcy had smacked Leif on the arm for causing her so much embarrassment.

It was supposed to be a hilarious sight; however, an empty, hollow feeling rose inside Loki as he gazed at the others. Somehow, deep within him, he felt as though he could never belong.

"No Brother." Thor patted Loki assuringly on the shoulder. The God of Mischief flinched slightly at his brother's touch but did not move away. "Leif will accept you. I will accept you. And the others will accept you in the future as well. You have to give them time." Thor said comfortingly, but Loki's eyes still flashed with a hint of doubt.

"Is that even possible?" The trickster asked softly, turning towards Thor and staring at the god ruefully in the eyes.

"Yes, it is." Thor said firmly, maintaining eye contact with Loki. "Stay, Brother. For me. For our friends. For Leif." The God of Mischief's eyes flickered back to his son once more. He stared quietly as Leif began linking arms with Fandral and Volstagg and the trio started a loud chorus of the song 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas.' The rest of the Avengers and friends had crowded around them as well, cheerfully clapping along to the beat of the song.

Loki felt a sudden pang of longing and pain for his son. Somehow, the god felt that he had owed Leif too much and perhaps, the only way to make amends would be as Thor had said: To stay with the boy and care for him.

"I will consider," Loki said quietly after pondering for a while. "Brother." The god added softly as an afterthought, still gazing ahead and refusing to look at Thor in the face. However, the Thunder God's face lit up promptly after hearing Loki's words and he flashed an elated grin.

Thor gazed joyfully at his brother for a moment before tearing his attention away back to the festivities in the house. The god chuckled with amusement as he watched Pepper chide Tony for being a spoil sport when the irritated billionaire had told Leif and the others to 'tone it down a bit'. Yes, this glorious festival of Christmas was every bit as good as Steve Rogers and the others had claimed it to be.

The Spirit of Christmas, forgiveness, love and family were present; Thor could feel it, and he knew that Loki could too.


End file.
